Real World Gardener is produced in the studios of 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, N.S.W. and heard across Australia on the Community Radio Network. A gardening show with up to date, informative topics about sustainable gardening, plants, wildlife and the environment.
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Monday, 8 December 2014

Seaweed for Plants for a Day

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney,
streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio
Network. www.realworldgardener.com

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The complete CRN
edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album
Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

PLANT DOCTOR

Have you ever collected seaweed from
the beach and placed it around your garden plants?Did you wonder about washing of the salt first or put it straight on?The benefits of seaweed on plants are plenty but seaweed is not regarded as a
fertiliser because it has so little in the way of the big three
nutrients-Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium.

You may even have heard seaweed
extract being called a tonic for plants but what does that actually mean?

Let’s find out more about this
potentially beneficial ingredient….

Collecting seaweed from the beach is not so easy these days because there's not much of it around anymore on some beaches.So the best way to get seaweed on your garden is to buy seaweed extract.

Seaweed extract comes in either
liquid or powder forms.Either way, using seaweed on a
regular basis should be a routine in your garden maintenance program over
summer.If you plants have the odd yellowing
leaf, seaweed solution will most likely help them. Seaweed extract

stimulates strong healthy plant growth

encourages root development and minimises transplant shock

enhances plants ability to cope with various stresses including drought, salty soils and the cold

Did you know that a lack of micronutrients
in the soil rarely causes a deficiency in plants. Instead it’s because the soil is
poorly drained, or the soil is cold, or has a pH that is too high or too low. In any case, the tonic of a seaweed
spray can help the most.TIP: If your using a hose on, hosing
the leaves has little benefit-use a pressurised sprayer for this.

If you have any questions about seaweed
solution or have some tips about using seaweed on your garden, drop us a line
to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644
Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

This week’s Vegetable Hero is the mint-but
not just any mint, it’s Vietnamese mint,Persicaria
odorata.

Odorata simply means fragrant.

Summer is a great time to be growing
mints of all kinds, but this one is particularly good.

And…..Vietnamese mint isn’t actually
a mint, nor is it in the mint family-Lamiaceae but in a family called
Polygonaceae-the same for buckwheat and rhubarb.

In botany, mint is the common name
for any of the various herbaceous plants that have a botanical name starting
with Mentha, in the mint family Lamiaceae.

Only the members of Mentha are known
as the "true mints." In comes some other plants with
fragrant leaves that also have the common name of mint.

Vietnamese mint is one of these. Not
a true mint and again, not even in the mint family.

This so called mint is a herb that’s
used a lot in Asian cuisine, and funnily enough, it grows easily, much like
other mints.

The leaves are used fresh in salads,
soups and stews.

In Singapore, the shredded leaf is
an essential ingredient in laksa, a spicy soup.

Vietnamese Mint photo M Cannon

Here’s a funny fact-did you know
that some Buddhist monks grow Vietnamese mint in their private gardens and eat
it often as a helpful step in their celibate life.

Vietnamese mint has an essential oil
called kesom oil.

This oil is used a lot in the
processed food industry where it’s used in the form of a natural food essence.

The cosmetic industry also uses
kesom oil.

So what does it look like?

It is a creeping herbaceous
perennial that grows up to 30cm with a flavour that is a mix of pepper, mint
and lemon.

The leaves are very narrow and angular
looking and the stems are jointed much like wandering Jew which is now called
Tradescantia.

The old genus name Poly­gonum
(English: knot­weed) pointed to way the stem looked, - many joints linked
together by slightly bent “knots” or “knees”

The top of the leaf is dark green,
with chestnut-coloured dark rounded markings right across the leaf, and the
underside is burgundy red.

When it flowers is has flat spikes
of light lavender coloured flowers

In originates in Vietnam where it’s
found in the wild in wet and boggy places.

Where it Grows

It can grow very well outside in
summer in non-tropical parts of Australia.

Vietnamese mint prefers part-sun and
well-drained soil.

For those areas with cool to cold
winter, bring your Vietnamese mint indoors or under shelter as you would an
indoor plant.

It grows very well in pots but is
frost tender.

Tip: If you’re growing them in pots,
once Vietnamese gets pot bound, it’ll stop producing leaves giving you a big
hint to repot and divide it up.

Vietnamese mint rarely flowers
outside the tropics, but it’s the leaves you want to use and not the flowers.

Vietnamese mint is normally fairly
low maintenance and is easy to grow, as long as you give it a basic level of
basic care.

All you need to do is keep it well
watered and cut back to the ground when

leaves become tough to produce more
fresh young leaves.

Vietnamese mint is a perennial plant
that grows best in tropical and subtropical zones in warm and damp conditions.

In good conditions, it can grow up
to 15 to 30 cm.

In winter or when the temperature is
too high, it does wilt.

If you know someone with this plant
ask for some cuttings from a mature clump.

These mints are so hardy! They will
tolerate any soil conditions and even people stomping on them (by accident of
course).

They don't need constant fertilising
or watering but do like shading from the hottest part of the day.

Try planting Vietnamese mint if
you'd like to attract butterflies and bees to your garden.

Cooking with Vietnamese Mint.

The fresh leaf is used typically in
Vietnamese cooking and can be used in

place of Coriander in all Asian cooking,
soups, salads and fish. It can also be dried.

Why are they good for you?

Vietnamese mint contains high levels of Beta-carotene
and vitamin E:

Also has high levels of folic acid,
iron and calcium.

Mint leaves also have useful healing
properties.

Mints can freshen breath, soothe the
stomach and reduce inflammation. Mint leaves are not as potent as concentrated
mint oil, but they still have many of the same health benefits.

AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO
SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

DESIGN ELEMENTS

with Landscape Designer-ADRIAN SWAIN Refugium Adrian describes his show garden for this years Australian Garden Show as a low maintenance, living refuge
which accommodates entertaining, relaxation and reflection. Large concrete
slabs punctuated by recycled timbers and a recycled brick feature wall.Materials are complimented by
interesting foliage types and a colour range of silver, purple and deep green.
Mature trees anchor the plantscape and provide form and scale.Listen to Adrian describe his design ethic as well as the plant listing

Refugium photo M Cannon

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Hemerocallis hybrids.

with Karen Smith from www.hortjournal.com.auWould you like a perennial plant
that’s easy care, and flowers all summer, year after year?

Sounds too good to be true, but with
a few general tips on keeping it looking good, these plants can fill the lower
parts of your borders or fill out those sunny spots that look bare.

With names like Adorable Perfection,
Bali Watercolour, Boogie Woogie Blues and Dream Lover, what could I be talking
about but daylilies?

Let’s find out about this plant.

Did you know a daylily is not a bulb?

It is a hardy perennial that can flower for 4 - 6
months.

Day lilies can be planted all year
round and Daylilies are long flowering , even though each flower only lasts a
day.

They can be planted all year round either in the ground or in pots.

Flowering commences October in the subtropics &
mid to late November in VIC, NSW, TAS, SA & some areas of WA. In many areas a re-bloom occurs in autumn.

All daylilies need is 5 to 7 hours of sun every day,
lots of organic matter in the soil, a little water once a week, & a thick
mulch of straw or hay. You can grow them in your perennial border, in pots on
your patio, around the edges of ponds, on steep banks & even on the
roadsides.

The new hybrids means the plant
flowers for up to 6 months.

They can have tiny blooms, double
blooms, huge single blooms, & fragrant blooms - and with good growing
conditions, they can be pest & disease free. They are truly a wonderful
perennial & are fast becoming one of the world’s most popular sun-loving
flowering plants.